1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to displaying images, and more specifically, to displaying images on electronic display boards and electronic billboards coupled to a mobile structure.
2. State of the Art
Billboards (e.g., displays, signs, display boards, advertising displays, etc.) have been used for many years to convey information to a passerby such as advertising, traffic messages, and the like. Billboards may be a permanently fixed structure such as a stationary roadside billboard while other billboards may be attached to a mobile structure such as a bus, train, automobile, and other types of vehicles. Traditionally these signs and billboards were only capable of delivering a single message or advertisement. This message was generally in a printed medium and was adhered to the billboard. To change the message, new paper needed to be printed and adhered to the billboard.
More recently, stationary billboards have become electronic, using lights, light emitting diodes (LEDs), and other electronic devices to display visual content that can be easily adaptable to display a wide variety of messages in the form of words and images from the same sign without having to physically change the characteristics of the sign. These electronic boards can easily modify a graphic image or message to create video displays and modify the type of message or advertisement that is shown on the electronic board at regular intervals, or at targeted times depending on expected traffic near the sign, or public interest. These possible images are generally referred to herein as visual content.
For conventional billboards, the visual content is delivered to the physical location and affixed to the billboard. With electronic displays, the visual content must still be delivered to the physical location, but the content delivery may be performed electronically. In addition, while traditional billboards may display the same message for weeks or months at a time, electronic displays enable the message to be changed easily and often. Thus, it may be possible to modify the visual content many times in a single day. Furthermore, electronic displays may be networked together such that the displays may communicate with each other, or with a central computer.